


Couples Therapy

by P0tatonoah



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Angst and Humor, Angst with a Happy Ending, Healing, M/M, Post-Canon, but i tried, couples therapy, i'm not funny and i know it, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:56:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26757625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/P0tatonoah/pseuds/P0tatonoah
Summary: I got a lot of comments (like 3 or 4) on my breakup fic asking for a part 2 where Neil and Andrew patch things up and live happily ever after… This is not it. But you can read it as an alternative ending if you want. Or you can read it as a one shot, it's up to you. I'm not your mom.I just thought: people are not always happy and they don’t always talk and relationships are not always perfect, so what if Andreil went to couples therapy?
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 17
Kudos: 54





	Couples Therapy

**Session 1**

Sarah Barker was in her office and she could hear her 5 o’lock clients arguing outside her door.

“I don’t care what Betsy said, I will not talk to some _stranger_ about our lives, Andrew.”

“You said you’d try. So get your ass in that office and try.”

“I can’t believe it. How can _you_ be ok with this?”

“I… Just shut up and get inside.”

“Hi, I’m Sarah Barker” said the counselor and then, seeing Neil’s scowl, added “You must be Neil.”

“Whatever.” He said, taking a seat on the couch. Andrew wasn’t amused by this behavior, but it wasn’t unexpected.

“Hi, I’m Andrew”

“Hi Andrew, nice to meet you in person. Betsy has talked so much about you,” Andrew’s eyes narrowed instantly “Only good things, don’t worry. Anyway, what brought you here today?”

Andrew looked at his husband’s expression of fake boredom and began talking.

He told the counselor how they’d been fighting lately over the most stupid things like when Andrew forgot to take the clothes out of the washing machine or when he bought the wrong brand of cat food.

“And why do you think these things are ‘stupid'" she said, adding air quotes with her fingers.

“Because who even cares about that? They’re such small things. He certainly never bothered about that before.”

And then they proceeded to perform a live show of a fight about said stupid things. Neil accused Andrew of being careless with his stuff, claiming he was tired of always having to pick up after him. This escalated quite quickly and soon Sarah was having to decide whether or not to believe in the stabbing threats she was hearing.

When the session was over, she took a deep breath and made a mental note to unfriend Betsy Dobson.

**Session 2**

Sarah greeted her clients and asked how they were doing. All she got in return was a grunt from Andrew and 50 minutes of complete silence.

**Session 3**

“This is useless. We are perfectly capable of dealing with our own shit.”

“If that’s true, then why did you sleep on the couch last night?”

“I told you I dozed off, it wasn’t intentional Andrew.”

_Maybe this session will be more productive_ , Sarah thought. Only to be proven otherwise when her clients left early without speaking to each other.

**Session 4**

“Hi gentleman, how are we feeling today?”

“Like shit” was Andrew’s response. Neil just shrugged and took his usual seat on the couch.

“How was your week? Did you managed to talk about-“

“It was fine. Everything’s just _fine_.”

“Neil…”

“No Andrew, I told you this was bullshit. If anything it’s just making things worse.”

“How so?” Sarah asked.

There was a moment of silence before Neil sighed tiredly and began telling the past week's events. He and Andrew had gone to a function last Friday. The whole team was there and it was supposed to be this huge fancy thing to raise money to the LGBTQIA+ youth shelter and Neil was really looking forward to it. Socializing had become easier over the years and he was excited he could help a cause so close to is heart. But Andrew had ruined everything when he pulled a knife on one of the guests . The man had asked Neil for a picture _“Big Exy star like this, my kids are going to freak out”_ the older man had said. Everything was ok until the stranger decided to hug Neil without clearing it with him first. After that everything was just a blur of knives being drawn and the security escorting them out.

“Andrew, what was going through your mind at that moment?” Sarah asked.

“I was just trying to protect you,” he said staring at the floor, unable to look at Neil. “When I saw that man touching you without consent I just…“

“I get it, but we’ve talked about this, Drew. Not everyone is… Fuck. Do you know how bad things are for coach right now? For us?”

“Oh your precious Exy. Shouldn’t mess that up, right?”

“Ok, let's take a deep breath and think for a second. I’m sure you’re not here just so you can hurt each other further.” Sarah said, trying to keep things from going south.

“I'll give you a task,” Neil’s scowl was so deep Sarah thought he’d hurt himself. “It's pretty simple. I just want you to write down what’s bothering you about your relationship. Doesn’t matter how small or insignificant you think it might be, just write. This should help organizing your thoughts and once the problem is ‘visible', it’s easier to find strategies on how to deal with it.”

As Sarah walked them to the door, she said “It goes without saying, but _please_ don’t read each other’s lists.”

**Session 5**

Of course they read each other’s lists.

“He doesn’t say ‘I hate you as often’" Andrew read the list out loud. "What does this even mean?”

Neil threw his arms in the air, exasperated. “It means stay out of my business Andrew” he finally said, snatching the list from his husband.

Sarah had to admit she was curious about that one. “What does it mean Neil?”

Neil groaned and threw himself onto the couch. “We used to talk more, about all kinds of things. And you used to be funny and I’d pester you because I knew that when you told me you hated me, it only meant that you hated how much you _loved_ me." Neil spoke the last part like it left a bittersweet taste in his mouth.

“That's why,” Andrew said quietly. 

“Why what?”

“Why I don’t say it anymore,” He sat down to look his husband in the eyes. “I love you Neil, and I don’t hate any part of it.”

_Aha,_ Sarah thought, _it was worth it. Am I not the best?_

But damn her and her stupid thoughts, because two minutes later they were at it again.

“Once after sex you said it was _fine_.”

“What's wrong with that?”

“We all know what that means, Neil!”

_Oh Boy, this was going to be a bumpy ride._

**Session 6**

After the list fiasco, Sarah thought she’d have to take things slow if she wanted these men to talk about their issues without storming off.

The session started off ok, Neil was the first to talk and said nothing had happened that week. Suspecting the look on his face, Sarah asked “And how does it feel, having an uneventful week?”

“It's fine.”

“You don’t look fine.” Andrew snorted at that, but didn’t say anything.

“Last week you said you guys used to talk more. What changed?” Sarah continued.

“I don’t know. At first we just fell into this comfortable silence. Being around each other was enough and then we became so busy with the team…”

“uhm. I see. Do you agree with that Andrew?”

The blond was in silence for a while, and when he spoke his voice was almost a whisper. “I thought I was losing you. To the team… Let me finish” he said when Neil made to speak. “All those people were so brand new, no ghosts, no dead mothers and you looked so happy just to be around them. I thought I was losing you, Neil.”

Sarah sat in silence waiting for the other man’s response, but he just ran a hand through his hair and breathed loudly.

“Neil…” Sarah goaded.

“You _are_ losing me Drew.” Andrew reacted with his whole body. It was almost like he had imploded, his heart in a million pieces. Sarah saw then how much he cared about his brooding husband.

“You are losing me… not because I have new friends, but because you refuse to move on,” Neil’s voice sounded strangled. “I know what you’ve been through, hell I was there for some of it, but I thought we could grow out of it. Together. Only you refused to let that happen.”

“I didn’t. It’s not just like that and you know it. You of all people-“

“Yes, me of all people. I know it’s hard. But I trust you Andrew. I trusted you with my life as soon as we met and I still trust you now. But I don’t feel like you trust _me_.”

“Don’t say stupid things.”

“Is it stupid though? Cause I don’t feel like you trust me enough to let me decide when I’m uncomfortable, or to tell me when you are not feeling safe. Instead you just lash out. That night… Yes that man didn’t ask if he could hug me and, yes, it was awkward, but I wasn’t _scared_.”

There was a silence before Neil continued to speak. “I need you to trust me Drew. I need you to know I can protect myself and that I’ll tell you when I can’t. But more than anything, I need you to understand that I love you. Scarred and glued together, just like you are.”

Sarah was not crying cause that would be unprofessional of her.

**Session 7**

“Well, last session was very emotional. I believe you have talked about it throughout the week…” Sarah said expectantly.

The men sitting in front of her exchanged a guilty look.

“All right… Let’s talk about it now, then.” She rubbed her hands together preparing herself. “Andrew, what do you think about what Neil said, you not trusting him enough and all that?" 

The surly blond man didn’t answer.

“Neil, have you ever expressed those feelings to Andrew before?” She tried again, but only got a shrug in response. 

_Baby steps, she thought. We’ll get there. Even if I have to_ kick _them all the way there._

**Session 8**

Sarah waited for her 5 o’clock appointment but they didn’t show.

**Session 9**

She was starting to get worried.

**Session 10**

“Hello Neil, Andrew. Nice to see you again.”

“Hey" they answered in unison. _Huh_

“So, how have you been?” Sarah said seating on a chair across from them. She couldn’t help but notice how close they sat to each other, their knees touching.

“Fi- Good,” Neil said, and then added “We talked about all the… stuff.”

“Oh I’m glad to hear that.” Sarah was irrationally scared that this was a prank. That they had teamed up to make fun of her one last time. “How are you feeling now? Andrew?"

The man looked at his hands and then up at his partner’s eyes. “I'm good.” Was that a smile on his lips?

They explained how they finally stopped avoiding the subject and just faced it head on. Neil had already said his piece during the session, but Andrew had a lot stuck on his throat. He trusted Neil with everything except with his own well-being. _“Cause lets face it, you were never good at saying how you actually felt.”_ He’d said. 

_“I tell you that I love you”_

_“But not that I’m hurting you, and that’s the thing. You need to tell me Neil. How am I supposed to trust you like that?”_

That had gone on and on until they reached an agreement. Neil would always be honest about his feelings if Andrew let him deal with things by himself. 

“That sounds like a good deal.” 

Andrew’s huff was barely audible. 

“What was that?” Sarah asked.

“As a part of our agreement, he’s not allowed to wear knives at social gatherings anymore.”

_I don’t think anyone should be allowed that_. Sarah thought as she smiled pleasantly. 

**Session 11**

“I have to admit, I was surprised when you called, Neil. Thought you’d want to be done with it.” Sarah said at the end of that session.

“Yeah, so did I,” he said as he scratched the back of his neck. “I just wanted to thank you… Guess it is good to have someone to help us see things clearer or whatever.”

“Well, I’m honored.” Sarah was quite pleased with herself. Two happy clients leaving her office holding hands, sharing secret smiles and soft kisses when they thought she wasn’t looking.

Maybe she should have given Betsy more credit…

**Author's Note:**

> I had fun writing this, so I hope you enjoyed reading! 
> 
> If you're wondering (you're probably not, but if you are) about the breakup fic. It's called "Home...?", feel free to check it out.  
> Or my other works, I don't write only angst, yk
> 
> I'm also on tumblr as @p0tatonoah asks are appreciated :)
> 
> Obs: I had no beta for this one, so sorry if there's something weird.


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